Presented by the MFA at
When Was the last time you made space for yourself and your Writing?
HerStry is proud to present our very first 2-day event, a virtual writers’ retreat.
Making space for ourselves is never simple. The world demands a lot from us. Family, jobs, social obligations. There isn’t always time to just be with ourselves. And there definitely isn’t time to make space for our writing. That’s why we’re inviting you to make space with us. To light an candle and set your mind at ease. To prioritize your writing.
Traditional retreats require lots of money and expensive travel. Not our virtual retreat. You can do this anywhere. Your kitchen table, your bed, maybe an air bnb that you’ve rented for the weekend.
Registration Deadline: October 14th
Thank you to our sponsors!
Sample Schedule*
(All times listed are in the central time zone)
Saturday:
9AM: Meet and Greet and intro meditation
10AM: Craft Chat with Author in Residence
12PM: Lunch break
1PM: Group Workshop Time (Or free writing)
2PM: Free Writing
3PM: Happy Hour
Sunday:
8AM: Silent Morning Free Write (Optional)
9AM: Morning coffee & Conversation with Authors in residence
9:30AM: Group Workshop Time (Or free writing)
10:30AM: Free Writing
11AM: Agent Panel
12PM: Lunch break
1PM: Workshop with Author in Residence
2PM: Yoga & Meditation for Writers
3PM: Happy Hour and Networking Time and Goodbyes
*Schedule subject to change
Meet Our Authors In Residence
The authors in residence will be with us throughout the retreat, teaching workshops and informally chatting with participants.
Alisson Wood
Alisson Wood’s award-winning writing has been published in the New York Times, The Paris Review, The Rumpus, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. Alisson holds an MFA in Fiction from New York University, and teaches creative writing at her alma mater. She is the founder and Editor in Chief of Pigeon Pages, a NYC literary journal and reading series.
Being Lolita, from Flatiron Books at Macmillan, is her first book.
Zaina Arafat
Zaina Arafat is a Palestinian-American writer. Her debut novel, You Exist Too Much, has been praised by O Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Good Morning America, NPR and BBC Radio, and was selected by Roxane Gay as her favorite book of 2020. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times, Granta, The Believer, Virginia Quarterly Review, VICE, BuzzFeed, Guernica and The Atlantic, and is currently working on an essay collection. She holds an MFA from Iowa and an MA from Columbia.
Meet Our Guest Agents
Meet Our Yoga & Meditation Guide
Nathalie Rodrigues de Carvalho is a former actor having graduated with a BFA from NYU and working mostly in TV and film. Being raised as a 3rd culture kid living between Brazil, Germany, Italy and China, art has always been the main source of stability, expression and healing since she was a young girl. She grew up suffering with depression and eating disorders which led her not only to explore various art forms (visual art, dance and writing), but also trying out healing modalities and spiritual practices since she was 11 after surviving a suicide attempt. This led her to studying various Eastern philosophies including Buddhism and yoga, and she also became a trauma-informed yoga teacher along the way. After years being an actress in Hollywood and also an arts educator at Rikers Island and in public school, she felt called to being of service to individuals more 1-1, which led her to work on crisis intervention and eating disorder support groups as well as artists' support groups. She is currently attending Columbia University pursuing a masters in Clinical Social Work with the goal of becoming a therapist who is focused on how systemic issues affect wellbeing and specializing in somatic and embodiment healing modalities in particular that can help heal trauma and expand creativity through mindfulness.
